The present invention is directed to an apparatus and method of accelerating the healing of wounds by subjecting the wound to an electric field. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an apparatus and method for accelerating the healing of a wound by applying a time-varying magnetic field to induce electric fields and eddy currents that promote healing.
There are many branches of medicine where the movement of a variety of cells occurs with beneficial effects such as in embryonic development and wound healing, and, at other times, with detrimental effects such as in cancer metastasis. It is suspected that the motility of cells in these diverse situations may be driven or be accompanied by the presence of endogenous electric fields. The directional movement of biological cells in the presence of an applied electric field is known as Galvanotaxis or electrotaxis. The effect is named after Luigi Galvani, who in the 18th century discovered bioelectricity. The majority of experiments related to galvanotaxis over the past two centuries have involved steady electric fields applied via electrodes placed in contact with the medium containing the cells (usually, the electrodes are in contact with the medium containing the cells through agar filled tubes and the applied electric field is usually DC).